Aggressive Driving Legislation
Road Rage From a Psychological Perspective
Caution to All, Look Before You Leap
How Did I Do Compared With Others in My Generation
Suggestions for Future Generations
Aggressive Driving
Legislation
Subject:
First moves against road scum
Date:
1998/01/28
On USENET I've actually seen people
"defending" tailgating and other stupid aggressive behavior (LOSER behavior) on the
road. People who exhibit this kind of
driving behavior exist to form the back side of the IQ bell curve. They
not only pollute the road environment
but are frequently a danger to others. In the Phoenix area it's gotten bad enough that the first steps are being
proposed to deal with the problems they
cause for decent society. [ Dave Simpson
]
..............................................................................
"Road
Rage" Bills Target Overly Aggressive Drivers
Ê
If there's one thing worse than crawling along on a jam-packed Valley freeway at rush hour, it's watching the clown behind you drive inches from your back bumper before swerving to the shoulder to pass. But don't reach for your weapon. Grab the car phone and call the cops. Under two proposals that picked up powerful legislative endorsements Tuesday, drivers could be cited by police for driving too aggressively. The measures are designed to cut down on the growing carnage on the roads caused by "road rage."
One bill would define aggressive driving and
set up stiff penalties, including a 30
day license suspension for first-time offenders. The second would make it
illegal to drive across the white-lined
triangles at freeway ramps, known as "gore"
points. The word is derived from a triangular pattern, as on a piece of
land or a garment, not from a description of an
accident scene. DPS Officer Doug
Knutson was killed earlier this month when a pickup plowed into him as he stood in a gore point on the Red
Mountain Freeway.
Proposals designed to curb "road
rage" "While we cannot
undo the tragedies of the past, we can enact laws to change our future," Gov. Jane Hull said at a news
conference Tuesday morning. "The issue of aggressive driving is serious. And this bill will leave
no doubt about it."
Hull was joined by House Speaker Jeff Groscost
in supporting the proposal. Senate
President Brenda Burns is generally supportive of the bills, but hasn't had a chance to review the details. Supporters say the aggressive-driving legislation
gives police new and needed tools to
prevent road rage. Drivers could be charged with aggressive driving
if they are cited for a combination of any
three of the following charges:
* Reckless
driving.
* Excessive speed.
* Passing on the right or on the
shoulder.
* Tailgating.
* Failure to signal lane changes,
improper lane changes, or failure to signal.
* Failure to yield the right of way.
* Running a red light or stop sign.
A first-time offender would face a misdemeanor
charge. But a second conviction
would be a Class 6 felony with an automatic license suspension of one year.
Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor's Office of Community and Highway Safety, pointed to a AAA study showing that people are more afraid of road rage than drunken driving.
Nationally, the American AUtomobile Association reports that aggressive drivers have caused 10,037 incidents from 1990 to 1996, with 218 people being killed.
"The problem with aggressive driving is that it leads to road rage," Gutier said.
Sen. Tom Freestone, R-Mesa, who is co-sponsoring the bills, agreed.
The cost of the proposals is unknown. By making it illegal to drive across gore points, the state would have to re-stripe freeway ramps using yellow paint instead of white.
Hull said money can be found to pay for the changes.
Reasonable enough,
since it seems to be becoming more prevalent.
Nationally, the American AUtomobile Association
reports that aggressive drivers have
caused 10,037 incidents from 1990 to 1996, with 218 people being killed.
"The problem with aggressive driving is
that it leads to road rage," Gutier said.
Sen. Tom Freestone, R-Mesa, who is
co-sponsoring the bills, agreed.
The cost of the proposals is unknown. By
making it illegal to drive across gore
points, the state would have to re-stripe freeway ramps using yellow paint
instead of white.
Hull said money can be found to pay for the
changes.
Ê
My Comments
I think that some of
the ideas here are a little extreme and hard to regulate. I think that it
will boil down to my word against yours. Traffic citations for tailgating
can be a bit much. How is the Police Department supposed to regulate
that? What would be considered tailgating and how or what will they use
to measure it. I know I tailgate but I cannot say that I do it
intentionally. I tend to tailgate because I do not like to use the brake
because that tends to waste gas. I take my foot off the gas and it sometimes
coasts me right behind the car in front. Then I slow to a speed that
allows me space and I do not normally catch up to the person again. I
feel bad when I do this to because I feel like I invaded the persons space in
front of me and I do not want them to think that I am trying to make them to go
faster or to think that I am upset with them. I do not think that
warrants a ticket.
I also agree with the
new legislation because there are a lot more dangerous drivers on the road. Not
stopping for a sign or not yielding to the right of traffic can be hazardous
and I can see citations for these but for not signaling a lane change
especially if there are no cars in the next lane. Nor can I see
tailgating getting any citations I think we all tailgate at one point or
another and we do not intend on doing it on purpose I do not see it as always
being aggressive.
Subject:
Dave Barry writes about road rage
Date:
1998/02/09
I got a good laugh out of this column, I hope you do also!
If you do much driving on our nation's highways, you've probably noticed that, more and more often, bullets are coming through your windshield. This is a common sign of Road Rage, which the opinion-makers in the news media have decided is a serious problem, currently ranking just behind global warming and several points ahead of Asia.
How widespread is Road Rage? To answer that
question, researchers for the National
Institute of Traffic Safety recently did a study in which they drove on the interstate highway system in
a specially equipped observation van. By
the third day, they were deliberately running
other motorists off the road.
äThese people are MORONS!" was their
official report. That is the main cause
of Road Rage: The realization that many of your fellow motorists have the same brain structure as a cashew. The
most common example, of course, is the
motorists who feel a need to drive in
the left-hand, or passing, lane, even though they are going slower than everybody else. Nobody knows why these
motorists do this. Maybe they belong to
some kind of religious cult that believes the right lane is sacred and must never come in direct contact with tires.
Maybe one time, years ago, these motorists
happened to be driving in the left lane
when their favorite song came on the radio, so they've driven over there ever since, in hopes that the radio will
play that song again.
But whatever makes these people drive this way,
there's nothing you can do about it. You
can honk at them, but it will have no effect. People have been honking at them for years: It's a normal part of their
environment. They've decided that, for some
mysterious reason, wherever they drive,
there is honking. They choose not to ponder this mystery any further, lest they overburden their cashews.
I am very familiar with this problem, because I
live and drive in Miami, which proudly
bills itself as The Inappropriate-Lane-Driving Capital Of The World, a place where the left lane is thought of not so
much as a thoroughfare as a public recreational
area, where motorists feel free to stop,
hold family reunions, barbecue pigs, play volleyball, etc. Compounding this problem is another common type
of Miami motorist, the aggressive young
male whose car has a sound system so powerful that the driver must go faster than the speed of sound at
all times, because otherwise the nuclear
bass notes emanating from his rear speakers will catch up to him and cause his head to explode.
So the tiny minority of us Miami drivers who
actually qualify as normal find
ourselves constantly being trapped behind people drifting along on the interstate at the speed of diseased
livestock, while at the same time we are
being tailgated and occasionally bumped from behind by testosterone-deranged youths who got their driver
training from watching the space-fighter
battle scenes in "Star Wars." And of course nobody EVER signals or yields, and people are CONSTANTLY
cutting us off, and AFTER A WHILE WE
START TO FEEL SOME RAGE, OK? YOU GOT A
PROBLEM WITH THAT, MISTER NEWS MEDIA OPINION-MAKER??
In addition to Road Rage, I frequently
experience Parking Lot Rage, which occurs
when I pull into a crowded supermarket parking lot, and I see people get into their car, clearly ready to
leave, so I stop my car and wait for
them to vacate the spot, and . . . Nothing happens! They just stay there! WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING IN
THERE??!! COOKING DINNER???
When I finally get into the supermarket, I
often experience Shopping Cart Rage.
This is caused by the people - and you just KNOW these are the same people who always drive in the left-hand lane - who
routinely manage, by careful placement, to
block the entire aisle with a single
shopping cart. If we really want to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States, we should employ Miami
residents armed with shopping carts;
we'd only need about two dozen to block the entire Mexican border.
What makes the supermarket congestion even
worse is that shoppers are taking longer
and longer to decide what to buy, because every product in America now comes in an insane number of styles and sizes.
For example, I recently went to the supermarket
to get orange juice. For just one brand
of orange juice, Tropicana, I had to decide whether I wanted Original, Homestyle, Pulp Plus, Double Vitamin
C, Grovestand, Calcium or Old Fashioned;
I also had to decide whether I wanted the 16-ounce,
32-ounce, 64-ounce, 96-ounce or six-pack size. This is WAY too many product choices. It caused me to experience Way
Too Many Product Choices Rage. I would
have called Tropicana and complained, but I probably would have wound up experiencing Automated Phone Answering
System Rage (" . . . for questions
about Pulp Plus in the 32-ounce size,
press 23. For questions about Pulp Plus in the 64-ounce size, press 24. For questions about . . . ").
My point is that there are many causes for rage in our modern world, and if we're going to avoid unnecessary violence, we all need to "keep our cool." So let's try to be more considerate, OK? Otherwise I will kill you.
(c) 1998 Tribune Media Services. - Dan Stober Salt Lake City
My
Comments
I really enjoyed this
report because it was sarcastic yet true. I think the writer was trying
to get us to wake up and smell the coffee. Road rage extends far beyond
the road it affects us everywhere. The whole idea of RAGE is
everywhere. The only thing that we can do, is learn to deal with
it. We need effective ways of anger management. It seems
people have more stress and they do not know how to cope with it. This
stress is then translated to anger or rage. We need to kick it back a
notch and listen to some classical music and count to ten. If you think
about it, our society is moving towards less physical interaction. We are
in an electronic age where we can telecommute and do our work. Service stations
can basically run themselves, there are not too many places that still pump
your gas for you.
Subject:
License not required in CA? WAS: solution to road rage? No.
Date:
1998/01/30
Ê
As for your proposed legislation, most of the people I know have a speeding ticket, many two within the last ten years (including my mother, who absolutely DOES NOT speed; she rarely breaks 54 on the highway). A permanent revocation of the licences of these people will lead to exactly one thing: hordes of unlicensed motorists. Perhaps you prefer that state of affairs? Such revocation can only exist in a society with excellent mass transit--that is, a place where people do not NEED cars. Such a community is a long way off in this country. Back to the drawing board.
This reminds me of something. Here in PA, there is a court case currently underway where a man is challenging the constitutionality of requiring driver's licenses. The main gyst of the case is that requiring a driver's license is infringing on the right to travel freely within the country's borders. Someone told me that a similar case was fought and won in a couple States, one of them being California, however the state of California has kept the decision pretty hush-hush. Does anyone know about these "Right to Travel" arguments, and if it is true in CA? Thanks.
My
Comments
Isn't that a shocker!
I found that to be an eye opener. I can see something like that actually
happening but I do wonder if it is true. It makes sense that we should
have the right to travel freely within the country's borders. What a
concept I wish I knew this when I was 12!!
As for people driving without
a license, I do not think that it is rare at all. I know of at least two
people that have no license. Or just as bad I know even more people that
do not have no fault insurance. I think that if the person really needs
to drive they will no matter what. Each of us takes a certain amount of
risk each day as we get on the road. I sometimes speed and I do not
expect to get caught but when I do I will have to pay for it. I guess it
is a measure of the reward and risk. What is the risk of getting pulled
over for not having a drivers license? Very unlikely unless you were
doing something wrong and even then ask yourself how often you get pulled over
when you do speed or do something wrong. Good example would be coming to
a COMPLETE STOP BEHIND THE LINE. Is this not a law? When was the
last time you or anyone that you know was cited for it? I
rest my case!
Road Rage From a
Psychological Perspective
Subject:
Re: Road Rage - AA Survey
Date:
1998/01/17
As
you say, the phenomenon of road rage is grossly exaggerated.Ê But drivers reacting adversely to
stress caused by driving is not.
Fair
point. I do not believe, however, that this is something that is fixed
and unchangeable. First, let's take a look at the AA report's analysis
of the underlying causes (although it does seem to draw a little
too much on pop psychology):
==============================
In addition, there are
a number of factors that explain why driving, in
particular, should
cause this frustration to manifest. Studies of animal behaviour
have shown how rats and various primates can respond aggressively
in response to overcrowding. It is reasonable to suggest that
humans respond in a comparable manner.
Human
beings are territorial. As individuals we have a personal space, or
territory which evolved essentially as a defence mechanism - anyone who
invades this territory is potentially an aggressor and the time it takes
the aggressor to cross this territory enables the defender to prepare
to fend off or avoid the attack. This may extend no further than a
matter of a few feet or less. We may be prepared to reduce the size of this
territory according to the available space (eg on a crowded tube train)
but this can cause tension.
In
most cases if the territory is "invaded", if someone stands too close,
our social education tends to result in defensive body language rather
than physical aggression. The car is an extension of this territory.
Indeed, the territory extends for some distance beyond the vehicle,
again providing room for the defender to prepare to fend off or avoid
the attack. If a vehicle threatens this territory by cutting in, for
example, the driver will probably carry out a defensive manoeuvre. This
may be backed up by an attempt to re-establish territory - in spite of
the rationalisations we used to account for our behaviour, flashing head
lamps or a blast on the horn are, perhaps, most commonly used for this
purpose.
However,
this may not always succeed in communicating the full depth of our
feelings. As it is usually difficult to talk or even shout to the offending
driver other non-verbal communication (offensive
gesticulations) may be
employed.
Confrontations
of this nature are not uncommon and are usually defused as
the vehicles move away from each other. In some circumstances, the defending
driver may wish to go one step further and assert his dominance.
Many drivers admit to having chased after a driver to "teach him
a lesson" often pressing him by moving to within inches of his rear bumper.
This is comparable to the manner in which a defending animal will
chase an attacker out of its territory. However, the result of such behaviour
in drivers is, of course, potentially fatal.
Some
of the worst cases of road rage have occurred where the opportunity for
the vehicles to separate and go their own ways does not present itself.
Gesticulations and aggressive manoeuvres have been exchanged in a
rapidly degenerating discourse. Worked up into a rage one or both drivers
have then got out of their vehicles and physically attacked their
adversary and/or his vehicle.
Increasing
levels of congestion on the roads have undoubtedly played a role
in raising tempers among drivers and may partly explain why our survey
revealed that the majority of motorists feel that the behaviour of
drivers has changed for the worse in recent years. Conflicts
between drivers have also arisen because of unclear road prioriries
where drivers have disagreed as to who has right of way, for example.
=======================================
You
will probably seize on this description of the driver's artificial environment
as proof that there is nothing that can be done to stop road rage.
This is not so - as long as people are made aware of the way these factors
influence their behaviour, they can recognise the signs and avoid
getting themselves drawn into a cycle of aggression. The report recommends:
"Be
aware of the precursors. Follow our general recommendations for avoiding
stress and fatigue [snipped]. In particular, try to disassociate
yourself from problems that have no bearing on the journey.
"Never
assume that an apparently aggressive act was intended as such. We all
make mistakes. So don't bite back. If we take an example from studies
of animal behaviour in the wild, the dominant animal in a group will
rarely get involved in petty fights and disagreements. Although confident
in his ability to defeat any opponent there is always the risk of
injury.
"Finally,
draw reassurance from the fact that if you feel that someone is
driving like an idiot every one else does."
Ê [ Paul Gardner ]
My
Comments
I liked this posting because of the psychology and sociology
implications. The idea of our instinctive traits surfacing during our
driving self is exciting. We can examine our instinctive behavior behind
the wheel. I think that this would be the id "pleasure
principle" the basic drive behind our unconscious. The whole idea of
us being territorial is so true!! I have to deal with this at work
too. As a waiter you do not want to invade the customers space. No
one wants to be crowded and if we are we get defensive. An example would
be catching the bus. If the bus is empty you do not want to sit next to a
stranger nor do you want a stranger sitting next to you.
The whole idea of the
car being an extension of our self is very true. When we are in a car
especially behind the wheel the car becomes a part of you because we control
it. It becomes an arm or a leg where we can execute how we feel.
Like the posting says when we are driving and someone cuts us off and we feel
vandalized (invaded personal space) we can opt to be the superior ( like
animals) and attack the intruder through tailgating, honking, pulling up along
side and yelling or staring just to make the other person know how we
feel.
Subject:
Re: Lousy drivers (people) on roads
Date:
1998/01/29
Some very good points here in this article (and the proposed legislation definitions), but as I had mentioned in a different NG, nothing will change as long as people *think* they have a right to drive. A driver's license is firmly established as a PRIVILEGE by the issuing government, and thus the driver is subject to all the controlling laws that coincide with this privilege. When a REAL driving test is instituted, one that can only be passed by fully attentive, competent drivers, you will see a drop in road rage, aggressive driving, and stupidity accidents.
Something tells me that if we were to institute the sort of rigorous driver-training and -licensing requirements that are in place in, say, Germany, there would be a loud public outcry.
Not to mention a bunch of suddenly-stranded suburbanites...and either a sudden blossoming of driver-training schools, or a strain on local bus service, or both.
"There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." [ Oscar Wilde- ]
My
Comments
In this posting I enjoyed
the comments of both respondents. I liked the idea of a more rigorous
drivers education. I do believe that driving is a privilege that most of
us take for granted. I recall driving as a privilege back in drivers
Ed. The instructor told us something like this: "Your parents
are letting you drive and this is a great responsibility and privilege for
you. A car is more than a ride it is a weapon if you do not use it properly."
I do not exactly remember but it went along those lines. It really hit
home because if you really think about all the driving injuries, deaths or
related the numbers can be overwhelming.
On the other hand the
other writer is correct in saying that it cannot be a drastic change or we will
have chaos. I believe a change, however small, will make a
difference. For example were everyone to come across this page to just
use the fast lane for overtaking and not strolling the freeways would be
a whole new world. One by one, driver by driver if we all cared could
really make this world a better place. I am an optimist!!
Caution to All Look Before
you Leap
Subject:
Re: Road Rage - AA Survey [reply to various posters]
Date:
1998/01/19
There have been a variety of reactions to the tale of road rage I posted a while back, and in my final message on this thread (and probably to the NG - the standard of 'discussion' on here is barely at playground level) I'd like to reply to some of the points made and make a few final observations.
Someone kept making the fatuous point that I was breaking the law by doing 80mph. That's true enough, but then the majority of motorway drivers break the law by speeding at some time, so frankly I don't see what my speed has to do with the price of eggs, unless the implication is that as a lawbreaker I've got no right to complain about anything. Perhaps the poster is part of the small minority of the population who's never committed an indictable offence in his life.
Others made the fair point that I was wrong to give the guy the finger, and it's certainly not an error I'll repeat. Some said that, if I'd done that in any other situation I'd have got a kicking, which is a sound point and one I've made myself a number of times - it irritates me (dare I say it enrages me ;-)) when people make gestures or yell abuse from the safety of their little metal boxes which they wouldn't have the guts to do in real life. It's probably fair to say that if you make aggressive gestures then you should be prepared to back them up with personal violence, and as I'm not so prepard then I'll keep my hands to myself from now on. Mind you, I wonder what the real-life equivalent of driving up someone's arse at 80 is...
Some sensitive soul wished that I'd been rammed off the road, to which I can only reply that you, pal, are part of the problem, and I earnestly suggest that you search the Yellow Pages for a good anger management course.
Some other guy wrote:
You already knew that the guy was a nutter because he was right up your arse. Then, after the incident, instead of justing ignoring it, you thought you would overtake him again. Hello? Are you thick or what?
I overtook him again to try to get away from him because he was driving deliberately dangerously in front of me, periodically speeding up to 60 then slowing right down to 30. My biggest fear was that he would stop altogether, which on this stretch of road without a hard shoulder would have been extremely dangerous. I would suggest an anger management course to you as well, mate.
So, let's get back to the nub of the matter. Does an offensive gesture by me justify deliberately dangerous driving by another which risks the lives of both myself and my blameless girlfriend? Does it justify said driver following us for over 10 miles, and quite possibly attacking us if I hadn't managed to lose him? If your answer to both these questions is yes, then I suggest you start smoking some good dope because you plainly need to chill out.
In all my years on
the road (30-odd as cyclist and passenger, just a year as driver), my strong impression is that
aggressive, irresponsible, and dangerous
driving is usually committed by men (although
I can think of a couple of women who drove like maniacs, including one white-knuckle ride that is burned into
my memory). My personal feeling is that
this is a problem caused by masculinity - we perceive ourselves to be in conflict / competition with other drivers
and act as we're brought up to act, that is
aggressively. When there is a direct
conflict with another man driver, perhaps due to violent gestures, being cut up, or wotnot, it ceases to be a
driving problem and becomes a man-man
conflict. In real life, conflicts between men are resolved by the use, or threatened use, of violence, so it's not
surprising that this ethos carries itself on to
the road and that so many men get out of
their cars to teach the other man 'a lesson'. ("I'll teach you not to be aggressive!" - SMACK!) . Now, if it
was only the men themselves that got
hurt there'd be no problem, but sadly this
testosterone overdose (particulary in young lads) puts the lives of non-combatants at risk. Maybe we need a
testosterone test instead
of the breathalyser ;-(
Women, on the other hand, don't have this masculine baggage. For all their technical faults they are, IMO, by far the safer drivers, and when I've been offered lifts from people I've always chosen the woman driver. More often than not, when I've had to take a lift from a bloke I've wished that I'd walked home.
I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that, as a man, you need to be prepared for violence from other men if you venture on to the road. Maybe things will improve as women make up a greater percentage of drivers, but I'm not going to risk it. So, those posters who think I'm a thicko idiot who deserves a kicking will be pleased to know that I'm giving up driving, for all but essential purposes, and will either use PT, my pushbike, or prevail on my girlfriend to give me lifts. The benefits that driving brings aren't worth the risks of hospitalisation or death just because some men have a hormone problem.
My final, and very
elementary, point, is that the purpose of driving is to get from A to B. That's all - the car's just a
machine for that purpose. No one should
have to suffer the threat of physical violence, or the stress of being shouted at, or have their lives put at risk,
just because they want to get somewhere. Or
maybe I'm just being
naive.
Thanks to those few who have sympathised with me. [ A Driver ]
My
Comments
The above dialogue is a
clear example of why you should control your temper because there are people
out there that are CRAZY! Although two wrongs do not make a right it does
take two to tango. Had the first driver not flicked off the tailgater in
the first place, there wouldn't have been a conflict at all. I feel that
the driver that flicked off the other person got what he deserved although it
was a bit extreme. I am sure that he will think twice before letting his
emotions show now.
Subject:
Re: Tailgaters Re: Responsibility
Date:
1998/01/23
Unfortunately your comments are perpetuating the problem and are partially responsible for the increase in the 'road rage' we see on the highways.
I spent seven years living in Germany and
driving the Autobahn, most of the time
in areas without any speed restrictions. (Read NO SPEED LIMITS!) I used to wonder why we couldn't enjoy
that kind of freedom in this country
until I returned home and the evidence almost ran me off the roads. I felt safer in Germany driving
around well in excess of 100 MPH than I
do here driving at 35+. What it comes down to is that here in the U.S. it is an unregimented free-for-all and
U.S. drivers do not know how to drive!
If they removed the speed limits here in California it would be instant genocide!
The main reason they can get away with no speed
limits in Germany is that the driving
laws are very regimented and the German Police enforce all the laws with equal vigor. There is a certain
driving etiquitte that is needed in
order to be able to drive at speed. In Germany it is against the law to pass someone on the right, with
the two exceptions being off-ramps and
periods of heavy traffic where cars are bumper-to-bumper
and the lane or lanes to your right might be moving faster than you. It is also against the law to
sit in the fast lane. The fast lane is
strictly for passing. You move into the passing lane to get around someone going slower than you and you
move back over to the right to make way
for the next person that may be coming up behind to overtake you.
Thus there is no reason for tail-gating. The Police enforce both those laws as vigorously as they do speeding in the areas where speed limits do exist and it makes sense to have them. Because of this you can move at a substantial speed and be assured that you won't have to keep slowing down because of some idiot either sitting in the fast lane totally oblivious to everything around him/her or intentionally blocking you because they think they know better and feel that they are going fast enough and you shouldn't be going any faster than they are. Not having to worry about some moron coming up on your right when you are trying to change lanes to the right is also a hugely welcome relief.
Granted much of this has changed since the
Berlin Wall came down as the roads have
become a little more crowded and more areas are now under speed limits or at least 'suggested' speed limits,
but it still is a blast. The anger
I feel here at the stupidity of the motorists, I use the term loosely, all around me is non-existant in
Germany. The written and practical
driving tests are a complete joke. All you have to do is be breathing and you can get a license. In Germany
to get a license is the equivalent of
passing a college-level class and it casts
almost as much as well. There, a license to drive is a privelege.
Here it is assumed to be a right.
Unfortunately, things here will never
change. I grew up up here and I learned
to drive here and things were never this bad. Sure there are more people but more people just means crowded roads
and does not equate to stupid driver
tricks.
The problem is bads laws, poor training and
easily obtainable licenses, poor/stupid
concentration of laws enforced, e.g. how much wasted time is spent enforcing that most heinous of crimes, commute
lane violation when red-light running is
reaching epidemic proportions! The first affects no one and the second has the potential to affect and
kill everyone. Which one do you think
gets the most vigorous enforcement? If you chose commute lane violation you win a cookie!
Up until recently the fine for violating the
commute lane was more than double that
of running a red light. Life is cheap but God help you if you get caught as a single in a commute
lane! Allright...I'm off my soapbox
now and no I have never been busted for violating the sanctity of the commute lane so I have no axe to grind if that
is what you are wondering. -- M. Piazza
As much as people
are going to ignite by this statement, I think that the long-haul truck drivers tend to know the "rules
of the road" a little better than
your Honda Civic commuting Bay Area folk (lowered Honda Civic with that megaphone exhaust, tinited windows, plastic jesus on
the dash and the huge STREETWIZE
stickers). They tend to pass on the left, stick to the right and RARELY pass on the right, unless you are being a
complete hazard.
When I used to drive in Indiana, if I was the
only motorist on the highway, and if I
saw a truck approach from the back and likely to pass me, I preferred to move a lane to the left and let
the truck keep on going in the right
lane. It seems to me to be much safer for an automobile to change lanes and back, and let the
truck keep on going, then for the truck
to change lanes and back. I rather trust the truck if it's moving in a straight line. I *don't*
trust trucks that change lanes to avoid
me. It leaves the trucker in control, and the trucker cares much less about me than I do about both of
us. And he can't see me clearly,
anyway, when he's passing me on the left.
California is a different story, mostly because
I am never the only motorist on the
highway. But again, if I find myself in the left lane and a truck is closing in from the back in a differnt
lane, I generally do not change lanes to
the right and force the truck to change lanes to the left. The less lane-changing, the better. I stay in my
lane and the truck stays in his lane and
passes me safely on the right. Truckers are smart enough to know this. It's usually people in sports cars
who consider it a necessity to always
pass on the left, and force others to ratuitously
change lanes by tailgating them.
It never makes sense for two vehicles to both
change lanes just so one can pass, when
they could have stayed in their respective lanes and just kept going in a straight line. Almost all
highway accidents take place when
somebody is changing lanes.Ê
The smartest driving policy seems to me to be
"lazy lane changing", which
means you stay in your own lane until you believe it's necessary to change lanes, then you change lanes, then you stay
in the new lane until it's necessary to
change lanes again, and so on. If everybody did this, we would rarely have accidents on the highway.
Ê
My
Comments
I like what the author has
done here because he analyzes how well people can drive. I repeat
CAN. I think that driving in a small community where everyone knows you,
can affect your driving. No one would want a bad reputation as a bad
driver so they stay on their toes. A brief example would be:
driving on the freeway you fly by a car look to the left and that person does
the same and come to find out it is your neighbor or worse yet your dad.
What do you think you would. How would you feel? I know I
would feel like I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
I also feel good
driving, like anything else is contagious. I think that one courteous act
will spark another like a fire. If I wave at the person behind thanking
them for the lane change they do not feel as bad letting me in. I know I
feel better when I get waved at for letting someone cut, in fact I look for the
wave! Because I do that I try to make it a point to wave when ever I
change lanes even if the person was far away and had nothing to do with it.
I also feel we need to
learn a little etiquette when it comes to driving because the car is an
extension of our self. Like fine dining or eating out we need to learn
how to act. I think, if there was street etiquette the roads would be a
whole lot nicer.
Subject: Re: Driving
age to be raised?
Date: 1998/02/18
I read something someware that the AA think 16-17yo drivers were safer than 18-25 drivers. But having been with the bogans in the past, I think that they are wrong.
I think 16-17s, having just come out of driving
school, are probably as skilled or even more skilled, than your average adult
driver. The problem is that -some- (mostly boys, I hasten to add) don't want to
use these skills because there is a mentality amongst teenagers whereby they
all think "accidents happen to other people but will never happen to
me".
They should remove some of those uncoordinated drivers and their souped up cars off the road rather than just penalising everyone of that age group. Last year one of those bogans with a hotted up RX7 with Nitrous lost it passing a car and smeared himself all over a tree. You'd think that other would learn from this.
If there were police out and about dishing up -severe- penalties to pople who speed, fail to give way, etc. then these idiots would soon move their interests elsewhere and stop "ruining it for everyone".
I was recently in the city centre in Masterton at
about 2100 on a Friday night and there were hotted up Japanese cars everywhere
going at about twice the appropriate speed, failing to give way and not slowing
down for speed humps. Where were the police? God knows, but if they'd been
there I'd say upwards of 5 drivers would have been penalised in some way
(though we can probably safely assume they would have received only a tiny
fine, not a proper deterrant).
My Comments
I do not know age has to do
with it. I think that there is a certain maturity level that needs to be
addressed. I think that no matter the age you start learning to drive
there will always be accidents due to inexperience. The only way to
really learn is by doing or teaching. I feel that the teenagers are the
ones that may get into the most accidents more so, due to their inexperience on
the road. You try teaching someone something that they are just not
interested and they will not learn.
Posted by Liz Sunderman on December 16, 1997 at 17:15:44:
In Reply to: Was I
wrong? Road Rage Revisited.
on December 02, 1997 at 09:53:48:
Some of those people out there are really stupid for taking road rage as a joke. Two of my good friends were killed last march because of road rage. The kid who did it doesn't feel any remorse for what he has done. This shows all of us that people in our society don't really care about other human beings. Whoever reads this, please spread the word that road rage isn't cool, and could affect those who are dear to you. THanks for taking the time to read this!
P.S. Don't wait to tell those you love that you
do, because before you know it, its too late.
Sicerely,
Liz Sunderman
My Comments
This posting is a plea for
some attention. Well I think it worked because I was a little agitated at
the fact that a "kid" killed this persons friends due to road rage
and does not even feel the slightest bit of remorse. What is this world
coming to? I think that this is a serious topic that needs much more
attention. The way this world is changing we have to learn to control our
beast. Back in the primordial stages of our existence we did not have so
much independence we needed to run with the pack. In other words we were
not self sufficient. As we move to a world where we no longer run
with the pack for survival we have to limit our instinctual urges. It was
ok to fight in the cave man days because they would not necessarily kill each
other over it because that member was still valuable to the pack. Now
people are no longer a valuable to the pack and killing another person is too
simple with the common arsenal one can have nowadays.
Subject: Reasons to
Hate Tailgaters
Date: 1998/02/04
I can more-or-less cope with people tailgating me because I have at least some control over the gap.
What really winds me up is tailgating of the cars in front, which means I either have to find a gap to overtake the entire road-train in one go, or risk having to wedge a gap open between two cars.
Just wanted to get that off my chest, as it happened about 20 times on the way to work this morning.
Lovely morning though, apart from that ... [ A. ]
My
Comments
I think that patience is a
virtue worth investing in. If the person had given himself ample time to
get to work he would not have to stress about anything. Instead he can
just enjoy the road like everyone else. If you are ever in this situation
I think you should take a breather. Sometimes it helps to look
around and enjoy the scene even if it is only buildings there are nice
buildings and ugly ones. I like to just sit there and take everything for
what it is worth. Live your life moment to moment because life is
uncertain. Live it to the fullest because there is always two ways of
looking at things. You can choose to look at the rain or the
rainbow. Which one do you think will make you feel
better?
How I Did Compared With Others in My
Generation
I think
that I did a decent job compared with others in my generation. I know I
am not the best and I still have a lot of room for improvement. I tried
to make this document easy to read and by doing so I had to sacrifice a lot of
grafics and backgrounds. This really hurts me in a way because I am not
especially happy with the appearance. I guess I sacrificed it to make it
more legible and easy on the eyes of my readers
Suggestions For Future Generations
I think that the online generational curriculum is a great idea provided that it gets used. We cannot be forgotten and left to rot in cybespace. Our ideas and reactions to these newsgroups are preserved here and can be gathered by future generations and reaped as a database of knowledge and reations. Searching the newsgroups serve the same purpose. People's ideas and comments will be preserved for as long as the server keeps them. There is a vast amount of opinions in its raw state to be read and researched in the newsgroups.
My Icons File || My Bookmarks File
My Psy 409a Homepage || My Psy 409b Home page
Dr. Leon Jame's Home Page || Psy 409a G8 Class Home Page